Sunday, December 6, 2009

Chicken Stew For The Soul

I have not been able to blog recently since my little girl was a wee bit ill. As I kept awake at nights to nurse her to health, I couldn't help reflecting - some of my dear friends ask me "how do you manage two kids when I find it difficult with one?" and I wonder how my mom brought up four of us. And my grandmoms with six and seven kids each. Bearing in mind that they didnt have access to the conveniences and gadgets that I most often take for granted.My mom is undoubtedly the best cook in our family. Her siblings, in-laws, nephews, nieces, children, grandchildren all love to eat anything prepared by her. We have a custom,- after a wedding in the family the newly wed couple gets invited to each extended family for a meal. A way of welcoming, getting to know and bonding with the new member of the family. By the end of all the visits, the couple put on loads of weight, with the best spreads topped with a lot of love! During these visits all the married members into the family have also become fans of mom's cooking at the first bite.Mom's Chicken Stew is a served with delicious Palappams (which I promise to post soon). Like most traditional cooks, mom's recipes had no measures. Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that... Before I left home I was determined to record her recipes and managed to do so successfully and most importantly I learnt that the main ingredient was lots of love. I hope someday my kids will also join me in the kitchen, like many of my foodie friends are already doing a good job of it.
A big thank you to Kristy from My Little Space for this award. Will pass it on soon.

Sharing with you mom's Chicken Stew For the Soul.

Ingredients-1kg chicken

For marinade-

1tsp ground tumeric

1tsp ground red chilli

1tsp ground coriander

3tsps ginger garlic paste

juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

some marinated pieces

Mix all the ingredients and marinate for a couple of hours. For best results marinate previous day, place it in a ziplock and freeze overnight. Defreeze it before you are ready to prepare the stew.For the stew-

1tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 large onion

2 potatoes

2 green chillies

1sprig curry leaves

1tsp ground coriander

1cup coconut milk

1/2tsp garam masala

salt to taste

fresh coriander

whole spices-

1 cinnamon stick broken

5 cardamoms

5 cloves

Preparation-

Slice the onions, slit the chillies, cube the potatoes and keep aside.

20 comments:

This chicken dish is full of goodnes. It really warms the heart and soul. I also wonder how parents took care of 6 or more children before while it's alreay so challanging to take care of one. Life is simpler before than today.

I hope your girl has fully recovered. Agree that all moms face greater challenges these days....different from days of old. Life is more complicated these days and negative influences abounds at all corners. Time spent with our kids is important. Cooking is a great way for bonding and for teaching our kids. This chicken dish looks very delicious. I love the spices and coconut milk added.

Hi Anonymous.Good question. I just realised I didnt mention the quantity of mustard seeds. Half a tsp will do. If you dont have ginger garlic paste, skin half inch ginger, peel 4 cloves of garlic and grind or pound in a mortar.

I just finished making this stew becuz I wanted to start my soul good thankgiving meal off with some stew and I wanted to try something new and new.doing my search for receipes I came across this picture and it looked so yummy I decided to go with this. I didn't have any of the spices and my local grocery stores only carried a few so I had to order most online. N e way I am so glad I did. This stew is so delicious. It is my first Indian dish ever and I love the flavor of the spice.u have truly opened my eyes and now I will be looking for other dishes to make use of my bew spices. everyone who has sampled it so far loves it.I will be making this again. Denise

Hi Denise,Am so happy to receive your feedback! You've made my day. I'll be thanking my mom for it too. Really delighted that it was your first Indian dish and that you prepared it for such an important day as well. If you need help on how to use the Indian spices, I'll be happy to provide you any information. Keep in touch. Happy Thanksgiving!

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